CLEVELAND -- After months of speculation, Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald formally announced Wednesday in Cleveland that he will run for governor in 2014.

FitzGerald, a Lakewood Democrat, is the first candidate to officially announce a gubernatorial bid, and if he wins the Democratic Party primary next year, he most likely would face Gov. John Kasich, a Republican who has not yet formally announced a re-election bid. All indications point to Kasich running for a second term.

FitzGerald criticized Kasich's recent budget proposal that had contained expansion of the base of items and services subject to state income tax. He also attacked past policy decisions led by Kasich, including diminishing public employee collective bargaining rights through Senate Bill 5, a measure that was overturned by a statewide referendum in November 2011.

"We have to ask ourselves are we going to sit on the sidelines or do something about it?" FitzGerald said. "I'm going to do something about it. I'm running for governor of Ohio."

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FitzGerald made his announcement first at the Hilton Garden Inn and then at other stops in Columbus and Cincinnati.

A former FBI agent and Lakewood mayor, FitzGerald was elected in November 2010 to serve as Cuyahoga County's first county executive, winning a four-year term.

In that election, FitzGerald defeated former state Rep. Matt Dolan, a Republican, who used to represent Geauga County. Dolan resigned from that seat to run for county executive. Dolan now lives in Chagrin Falls.

Other Democrats, such as former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, have been mentioned as possible candidates for governor, but have not made a decision.

FitzGerald said he wasn't entirely sure there would be another Democratic challenger now that he's announced his bid for governor.

"I think the chances of there being a serious primary or competitive primary are probably diminishing daily," FitzGerald said. "I think you'll have to see what the response is to the announcement in the next couple days. I think you're going to see a lot of elected officials across the state getting on board."

He said an Ohio Democratic Party goal was always to have a unified party and he thinks that objective is close.

Lake County Commissioner Daniel P. Troy attended FitzGerald's announcement and said FitzGerald is sending the right message.

"As he said, we can do better and certainly we can in Ohio, and there's a lot of work to do, and we're still struggling to a great degree in Ohio," Troy said. "It really needs to be governing on a policy that addresses all the citizens in Ohio and not just those with well-connected special interests."

The Ohio Republican Party issued a statement Friday, shortly after FitzGerald said he would make his announcement on Wednesday.

"After more experienced and credible Democrats took a pass on challenging Gov. Kasich, party bosses settled on an inexperienced opportunist who was investigated by the FBI for his ties to a massive corruption scandal," Ohio Republican Party Spokesman Matthew Henderson said. "Now he'll try to talk Ohio into abandoning the recovery we've built thanks to the jobs-friendly climate John Kasich helped create. No experience and no message -- that's surprisingly weak, even for the Ohio Democrats."

FitzGerald decision to run for governor also means there'll be a new Cuyahoga County executive next year.

FitzGerald said he planned to finish his term as executive and also to expect some big announcements in the next 30 days regarding developments in downtown Cleveland.

No candidates have announced a bid to run for executive, but early speculation of Democratic candidates includes state Rep. Armond Budish of Beachwood, former Cuyahoga County Treasurer Jim Rokakis, and Warrensville Heights Mayor Brad Sellers.

The decision of FitzGerald to run for governor will also mean there would be a new person elected as Cuyahoga County executive next year.